Gio Reyna knows it’s ‘controversial’ that he’s back with the USMNT, and aims to show his talent again

MARIETTA, Ga. — Gio Reyna is the kind of player whom U.S. men’s soccer team fans want to hear from, but don’t get to often.

He has never been a big talker in public, not before the scandal that engulfed his family around the last World Cup and not since then. Compound that with his struggles to find a true home in the club game, and season it with Europe’s culture of players rarely talking with media in the first place.

Then top it with the cherry of this moment. Despite barely playing for Germany’s Borussia Mönchengladach, Reyna is the biggest headliner of the U.S. team’s last gathering before the World Cup team is picked in late May.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino even broke one of his own rules, that national team selections should be earned from club efforts.

So when the word went out that Reyna would meet the press on Thursday, a lot of ears perked up. And it didn’t take him long to get right to the point.

“It’s always an honor, to keep it simple, to come back,” he said. “Understanding the club situation, I guess you could say it was one of his more difficult decisions, or I guess controversial decisions to bring me in. Can’t appreciate it enough — love this team, love this staff, love this group of people.”

That straightforwardness will no doubt be welcomed by the U.S. fan base, whether it’s his critics or his champions.

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“I think it’s always easier when you’re playing week in and week out. In my case, it’s not like that,” he said. “I’m fortunate, and of course always honored and happy to be back in with the coach’s trust.”

He added that he feels “prepared, regardless of the playing time situation at [the] club,” to get on the field in the Americans’ games against Belgium on Saturday (3 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62) and Portugal on Tuesday (7 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62).

“If the chance comes up in the next two games, I have confidence to myself and the team that I can do some good things and make an impact to help,” Reyna said.

Pochettino indicated that Reyna has his trust when he announced this month’s roster, calling the 23-year-old “a very special talent and very special player.” He had some proof, too, since Reyna repaid his boss’s faith in November at Subaru Park.

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Reyna returned the favor again when he said “me and Mauricio have a have a great relationship — we speak often.”

That second sentence counts for as much as the first, and maybe more. “Often” isn’t a word many other players can use when asked how much they speak with the manager.

But now that Pochettino has started to narrow the pool of World Cup candidates, perhaps he’ll extend the privilege wider.

It seems he has also extended the privilege of creative latitude on the field. That bodes well not just for Reyna, but all the attacking midfielders in a deep group.

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“[They] want me to be myself, want me to enjoy my game, enjoy my playing, so it’s simple,” Reyna said. “Of course, there’s guidelines that he wants me to sort of stay within reason, but he gives a lot freedom to the attacking players. And I think we really appreciate this, because most attackers enjoy freedom.”

Those words, like the others he offered Thursday, were pretty simple. But they meant a lot, and they’ll continue to until the World Cup.